Specialist Trains Lead The Charge Against Leaf Fall on The Piccadilly Line

Last year, the Piccadilly Line suffered badly from leaves on the line as this article on the BBC, which is entitled Piccadilly Line delays: Wet leaves cause train shortage reported. This was the opening paragraph.

The Piccadilly Tube Line has been hit with major delays after half its trains were taken out of service as wet leaves on the track damaged their wheels.

Transport for London’s press release, talks about using RATs.

The two Rail Adhesion Trains (RATs) are part of a package of measures being introduced this Autumn to tackle wheel flats and prevent disruption.

A robust action plan to tackle leaf fall on the Piccadilly line is well underway for the Autumn months, TfL confirmed today.

It follows the publication of an independent report, commissioned by TfL, into leaf fall issues on the Piccadilly line that have led to delays and disruption on the line over the past two years.

Two 1973-stock trains have been converted into specialist engineering trains which will travel on the Piccadilly line treating rails to reduce the risk of poor adhesion. The adhesive material they dispense helps the train wheels grip the tracks during braking. When trains brake on slippery tracks it can cause the wheels to lock and subsequently wear down, an issue known as wheel flats.

Other measures TfL is taking to ensure that services on the Piccadilly line run as smoothly as possible this Autumn include:

About This Blog

What this blog will eventually be about I do not know.

But it will be about how I’m coping with the loss of my wife and son to cancer in recent years and how I manage with being a coeliac and recovering from a stroke. It will be about travel, sport, engineering, food, art, computers, large projects and London, that are some of the passions that fill my life.

And hopefully, it will get rid of the lonely times, from which I still suffer.